🧠 May you live so fully that your future self never has to wonder “what if.”

It's only “delusional” until you're standing in the exact future you visualized.

Reminder: You can literally rewire your brain to attract the life you want. How? Optimism. If you’re interested in having me speak about the science and soul of optimism at your event this year, visit this page.

In 2025 I delivered keynotes for organizations like the NFL, Meta, Nespresso, Mattel, leading conferences like Veecon, and events presented by Nike & Chase Bank.

- Case Kenny

1. Who you are today vs. future you.

Your brain doesn’t experience your future self as you. Neurologically, future-you registers as a stranger.

Psychologist Hal Hershfield calls this temporal self-continuity. In brain-imaging studies, people showed strong self-recognition when thinking about their present selves. But when they thought about their future selves, that signal faded. The brain treated future-you as someone else entirely.

That matters because your brain doesn’t sacrifice for strangers. When you procrastinate, skip the workout, or choose short-term comfort, you’re choosing present comfort and assigning the cost to someone you don’t fully recognize yet. Future-you will deal with it. Present-you gets the reward.

This is why most advice about “thinking long-term” fails. Willpower can’t bridge an identity gap. You can’t consistently act in service of a future that doesn’t feel like yours.

The solution isn’t more discipline. It’s continuity.

In another study, Hershfield showed people realistic images of their older selves. Those who saw their future faces saved more than twice as much for retirement. Not because they suddenly cared more about money but because future-them became familiar. Real. Protectable.

Here’s the takeaway: Your brain moves toward futures that feel recognizable.

Productive delusion works when your future self feels like a believable extension of who you already are. You don’t need to see the whole transformation. You just need to make the next version feel like you.

What about you today will be foundational to the best version of you tomorrow? What’s the through-line? What will you bring with you as you upgrade your life? Highlight that, assign it to your future self, and watch the “identity gap” decrease.

2. Try this mantra.

Researchers found the perfect mantra… and it actually works.

Most mantras fail because they're about feelings. "I’m strong." "I’m capable." "I’m ready." Your brain hears that and thinks: "Prove it."

"I've done hard things before" is backed by research. Why? It's not a wish. It's a receipt.

Studies show self-efficacy (the belief you can do something) predicts success better than talent or skill. Your brain doesn't care how confident you feel. It cares about proof you've done it before.

"I’m strong" = describing yourself.

"I've been strong before" = directing yourself.

Research shows people who anchor their self-talk in past wins succeed at dramatically higher rates than people who don't.

Your brain doesn't run on motivation. It runs on evidence. Remind yourself you've done hard things before - your brain will connect the dots.

*PS: I teach about this topic at my “Language of Optimism” keynotes/workshops

3. Life shrinks OR expands when you…

Life expands or shrinks according to your courage to take the leap of faith and figure out the details later.

Life expands or shrinks according to how little you care about impressing the wrong people.

Life expands or shrinks according to how willing you are to bet on yourself.

Life expands or shrinks according to how unafraid you are to look a bit foolish in the pursuit of joy.

Life expands or shrinks according to how often you follow what makes sense to your soul, not a spreadsheet.

Some things I’m excited about…

Happier, healthier, wealthier… together.

The love you deserve amplifies your spark - the part of you that is passionate, wild, intense, curious, and alive. I wrote “The Opposite of Settling” to help you fall back in love with your spark. It’s a guide to finding someone who sees the fire in you and brings their own matches to keep it going.

» Get it on Amazon for 30% off

» Listen to the audiobook FOR FREE on Spotify (must have Spotify Premium)

Twice a week…

Most of my writing and thoughts come from my podcast. It’s completely free and I release new, short (less than 20 minutes) episodes every Monday and Thursday. Listen here.

Reminder…

The more audacity you have, the more life rewards you.

My name is Case. I’m passionate about the language of optimism.

For speaking/keynote inquiries click here

Listen to my twice-weekly podcast